The building’s interior has been designed as an expansive, open cave, flooded with natural light from skylights above. At least $400 million worth of art will be housed in the museum, including over 10,000 paintings, illustrations and movie memorabilia. The first floor and roof will be designated as public areas for visitors to exercise, relax, and “directly experience nature in the urban environment."

An open city with an inclusive culture, especially innovative buildings, is very important. It is a pleasure to work with the American filmmaker and legend George Lucas on creating a world-class landmark for Los Angeles. We hope that the joint efforts will continue to make Los Angeles the most creative metropolises in the world.- Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Architect, MAD

Alluding to this difficult journey at the groundbreaking ceremony, Lucas stated: “I am an avid architectural fan and I wanted a special museum that was a work of art in itself, and [MAD] has done that three times.”

It is my feeling that popular art is an insight into a society and what they aspire to; what they really want, what they really are — it is about telling the narrative of their story, their history and their belief system. I believe all kinds of art have a right to exist. I think it’s important to have a museum, that I used to jokingly say, supports all the orphan arts that nobody wants to see, but everybody loves.- George Lucas, Founder, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

With construction about to begin, the museum is expected to open in 2021.

With criticism forcing progress on MAD's "mountainous" Lucas Museum to come to a standstill, Frank Gehry has released a statement on the Chicago Tribune urging critics to "take the proper time to review" the museum before dismissing it. "Chicago is a great city for architecture and has historically supported innovative, forward-looking work.

Perhaps the most enduring appeal of Star Wars for its fans is not simply its compelling storyline or its dramatic space battles - it is instead that this universe is, in fact, a universe, with all the complexity and depth that entails.